The Falcon Strikes Back (1943)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.6/10   

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

Michael Arlen (character)
Stuart Palmer (story)

Release Date:

7 mayo 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

The Falcon is framed for the murder of a banker and the theft of war bonds. He makes his escape into...

Plot Keywords:

Gunfire | Fifth Part | Alibi | Beautiful Woman | Hangover

Comentarios de los usuarios:

An enjoyable entry in the b-movie series that has a consistent pace

Cast

Tom Conway	...	Tom Lawrence
Harriet Hilliard	...	Gwynne Gregory
Jane Randolph	...	Marcia Brooks
Edgar Kennedy	...	Smiley Dugan
Cliff Edwards	...	Goldie Locke
Rita Corday	...	Mia Bruger
Erford Gage	...	Rickey Davis
Wynne Gibson	...	Geraldine H. Lipton
André Charlot	...	Bruno Steffen (as Andre Charlot)
Richard Loo	...	Jerry
Cliff Clark	...	Inspector Timothy Donovan
Edward Gargan	...	Detective Bates (as Ed Gargan)
The Velma Dawson Puppets	...	Group Performers

Duración:

66 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

English | Español

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sonido:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Clasificación:

USA:Approved (PCA #9125) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-11 (2005) | Sweden:15

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivialidades:

Some cast members in studio records/casting call lists did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names): Charles Russell (Bank Messenger), Frank O'Connor (Bank Guard) and Lorna Dunn (Taxi Driver). In addition, Joyce Compton and Grady Sutton were in a Hollywood Reporter production chart, but they were not in the film either.

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)

An enjoyable entry in the b-movie series that has a consistent pace

Tom Lawrence gets off to a good start on his own as he wakes up with a hangover but with a sexy Latino lady standing over his bed. Mia Bruger is her name and she tells the Falcon of her concern for her missing brother. He meets her later to discuss the matter but someone knocks him out. He wakes up later on a country road in the backseat of his car with little knowledge of where he is. When he is arrested for a bank robbery and a murder, Lawrence works put that he has been set up and goes on the lamb to solve the crime and why he was set up.

In his first film on his own, Tom Conway opens with a typically suave turn in bed, hungover from his night on the town and waking with a beautiful woman in his room. From here the plot moves well to set up the mystery. It isn't a gripping thriller but it holds the interest by having enough going on and sufficient plot twists occur to help keep the pace up throughout. Much more enjoyable than the previous entry (Falcon's Brother) in this regard, the film is well written and well delivered.

After a so-so start in the last film, Conway seems like he was made for the role and within a few seconds of the first scene he is into it and great fun. His detecting skills are on show and he mixes them well with a debonair delivery and screen presence – the memory of Sanders slipped from my mind. Hilliard works well alongside him but, unusually for the series, there are quite a few strong female performances from Randolph, Gibson and Corday. After Lefty in the last film we get Goldie returning but this time played by Edwards. It is a basic turn and not as funny as I would have liked. Better comic support value comes from the pairing of Clark and Gargan (straight man and stupid man respectively); the simple comic scenes involving them are not imaginative but they do provide a few laughs.

Overall then a good entry in the series that is much more assured than The Falcon's Brother had been the year before. Consistent and with a good pace the film benefits from solid characters and good performances to produce a typically enjoyable film in this famous b-movie series.